More than 900 people voluntarily took poison or were slain, most of them from the Bay Area and many of them poor. In some cases, whole families were wiped out. When the bodies came home, there was often no one to claim them.

Only last week, the cremated remains of nine victims were found in a shuttered Delaware funeral home. Williams, who along with her then-husband and their 8-month-old daughter escaped from Jonestown before the massacre, said Friday that she wasn't shocked.

"It's just another example of how things were not handled in an organized fashion as they should have been," said Williams, 58.

'We suffered severely'

"Many folks who returned from Jonestown such as myself had to go through the process of this whole chain of events," Williams said. "We suffered severely from post-traumatic stress and, of course, that was before we had a name for it. It's like there's been a wound there that we've been able to somewhat put a Band-Aid on that represents Peoples Temple. However, when we hear of these other things popping up intermittently, it just opens back up that wound."

Photo: Associated Press

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FILE - This Jan. 1976 photo shows the Rev. Jim Jones, pastor of peoples Temple in San Francisco. The cremated remains of nine victims of a 1978 mass cult suicide-murder in Jonestown, Guyana, have turned up in a former funeral home in Delaware, officials said Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. The state Division of Forensic Science has taken possession of the remains and is working to make identifications and notify relatives, the agency and Dover police said in a statement. On Nov. 18, 1978, Jones orchestrated a ritual of mass murder and suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. Bodies of 911 massacre victims were brought to Dover Air Force Base, home to the U.S. military's largest mortuary. Many of the bodies were decomposed and could not be identified. (AP Photo/File) less

FILE - This Jan. 1976 photo shows the Rev. Jim Jones, pastor of peoples Temple in San Francisco. The cremated remains of nine victims of a 1978 mass cult suicide-murder in Jonestown, Guyana, have turned up in ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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4/2/76- Peoples Temple on Geary Blvd. in photo taken before the mass suicide.

4/2/76- Peoples Temple on Geary Blvd. in photo taken before the mass suicide.

Photo: Vincent Maggiora

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November 28, 1978 - This aerial view of the Jonestown agricultural commune shows the layout of the tin-roofed buildings that made up the settlement whose members died in a mass suicide-murder on November 19, 1978. At lower left is flat-pitched roof of the death pavilion and beside it are two long canvas-roofed school buildings. In lower right foreground are vehicle and equipment sheds. In the upper left corner are the wooden buildings of the older members of the commune and extensive agricultural plantings are beyond them to the edge of the jungle clearing. This photo was made on November 27, 1978, after the bodies had been removed.
UPI/ San Francisco Chronicle File 1978 less

November 28, 1978 - This aerial view of the Jonestown agricultural commune shows the layout of the tin-roofed buildings that made up the settlement whose members died in a mass suicide-murder on November 19, ... more

Photo: UPI, The Chronicle

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Photograph of Jim Jones.
All photos courtesy of the California Historical Society.
Ran on: 10-28-2006
Stanley Nelson explores the lives of Jim Jones and his followers in &quo;Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple.&quo; less

Photograph of Jim Jones.
All photos courtesy of the California Historical Society.
Ran on: 10-28-2006
Stanley Nelson explores the lives of Jim Jones and his followers in &quo;Jonestown: The Life and ... more

Photo: California Historical Society

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Jim Jones in white robe and sunglasses being touched by members of the Peoples Temple in Los Angeles, CA in 1974. He is the subject of Stanley Nelson's new documentary "Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple," opening Friday. Credit: California Historical Society
Ran on: 10-29-2006
Sacha Baron Cohen (center), starring as the title character in &quo;Borat,&quo; is a Kazakhstani reporter who leaves his homeland to make a documentary in America. The movie opens Friday.
Ran on: 11-03-2006
Jim Jones, who followers thought could heal them, is touched by members of the Peoples Temple in Los Angeles in 1974.
Ran on: 01-16-2007
Rob Jones, above, is the grandson of People's Temple founder Jim Jones, inset. At left, Jones stands between his parents, Jim Jones Jr. and Erin Jones. less

Jim Jones in white robe and sunglasses being touched by members of the Peoples Temple in Los Angeles, CA in 1974. He is the subject of Stanley Nelson's new documentary "Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples ... more

FILE--U.S. military personnel place bodies in coffins at the airport in Georgetown, Guyana after 900 members of the People's Temple committed suicide in Jonestown, Guyana in Nov. 1978. The Rev. Jim Jones urged his disciples to drink cyanide-laced grape punch. Jones, who was among those who died, led the Peoples Temple, which ran a free clinic and a drug rehabilitation program and performed other charitable functions. less

FILE--U.S. military personnel place bodies in coffins at the airport in Georgetown, Guyana after 900 members of the People's Temple committed suicide in Jonestown, Guyana in Nov. 1978. The Rev. Jim Jones urged ... more

Photo: AP

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Bodies of followers of cult leader Jim Jones are seen at the Jonestown commune in Guyana where more than 900 members of the People's Temple committed suicide, Nov. 1978.

Bodies of followers of cult leader Jim Jones are seen at the Jonestown commune in Guyana where more than 900 members of the People's Temple committed suicide, Nov. 1978.

Photo: Associated Press

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Minutes before they died, NBC reporter Don harris, left, and Gregory Robinson, right, a photographer for the San Francisco Examiner, are shown at the airstrip in Guyana on November 20, 1978, in a film made by Robert Brown, NBC cameraman, who was also killed.

Minutes before they died, NBC reporter Don harris, left, and Gregory Robinson, right, a photographer for the San Francisco Examiner, are shown at the airstrip in Guyana on November 20, 1978, in a film made by

The bodies of five persons, including Congressman Leo J. Ryan, D-Calif., lie on airstrip at Port Kaituma, Guyana, in November 18, 1978, after an ambush by members of the People's Temple.

The bodies of five persons, including Congressman Leo J. Ryan, D-Calif., lie on airstrip at Port Kaituma, Guyana, in November 18, 1978, after an ambush by members of the People's Temple.

Photo: Tim Reiterman, SF Examiner / Bancroft Library

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Rev. Jim Jones, of People's Temple, during an interview on June 2, 1976

Rev. Jim Jones, of People's Temple, during an interview on June 2, 1976

Photo: Stephanie Maze, The Chronicle

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**ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY, NOV. 16--FILE** This Nov. 1978 file photo of the aftermath of the Jonestown tragedy shows some of the dead. Thirty years ago, more than 900 Americans died in a murder and suicide ritual at the Peoples Temple agricultural mission in the jungle of Guyana. Passage of time since the holocaust has faded the differences between some temple enemies and loyalists, because they have experiences in common. Many share painful memories, guilt-filled feelings, loss of loved ones and psychological scars from an incomprehensible event that has come to symbolize the ultimate power of a charismatic leader over his followers. Although Jonestown has long ago passed from worldwide headlines to history, people who were entwined with the calamity live with it daily. (AP Photo, file) less

**ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY, NOV. 16--FILE** This Nov. 1978 file photo of the aftermath of the Jonestown tragedy shows some of the dead. Thirty years ago, more than 900 Americans died in a murder and suicide ritual at ... more

Photo: AP, File

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The Rev. Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple (center) listens while members of the Parks family tell him they want to leave.

The Rev. Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple (center) listens while members of the Parks family tell him they want to leave.

Photo: Greg Robinson, SF Examiner / Bancroft Library

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A pause for a moment of silence as family and friends gather for the 32nd anniversary of the Jonestown massacre, on Thursday Nov. 18, 2010 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif., to remember those lost in the mass suicide in Guyana, South America, in 1978. less

A pause for a moment of silence as family and friends gather for the 32nd anniversary of the Jonestown massacre, on Thursday Nov. 18, 2010 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif., to remember those lost ... more

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Jerry Suarez (l to r) and Michael Meyer tamp down crushed granite that surrounds the markers with the names of the victims of Jonestown at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif., Monday, May 9, 2011.

Jerry Suarez (l to r) and Michael Meyer tamp down crushed granite that surrounds the markers with the names of the victims of Jonestown at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif., Monday, May 9, 2011.

Photo: Lea Suzuki

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Jim Jones Jr., the adopted son of Jim Jones (L) and John Cobb, who lost ten relatives in the Jonestown tragedy, look over the Jonestown memorial at Evergreen Cemetery on May 12, 2011 in Oakland, Calif. Photograph by David Paul Morris/Special to the Chronicle less

Jim Jones Jr., the adopted son of Jim Jones (L) and John Cobb, who lost ten relatives in the Jonestown tragedy, look over the Jonestown memorial at Evergreen Cemetery on May 12, 2011 in Oakland, Calif. ... more

Photo: David Paul Morris, Special To The Chronicle

Image 17 of 30

Jim Jones Jr., the adopted son of Jim Jones (R) and John Cobb, who lost ten relatives in the Jonestown tragedy, look over the Jonestown memorial at Evergreen Cemetery on May 12, 2011 in Oakland, Calif.

Jim Jones Jr., the adopted son of Jim Jones (R) and John Cobb, who lost ten relatives in the Jonestown tragedy, look over the Jonestown memorial at Evergreen Cemetery on May 12, 2011 in Oakland, Calif.

Photo: David Paul Morris, Special To The Chronicle

Image 18 of 30

Much debate centered on whether to include Jim Jones in the memorial to those who perished at Jonestown, Guyana. His name, James Warren Jones, appears at the bottom of this panel at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland. less

Much debate centered on whether to include Jim Jones in the memorial to those who perished at Jonestown, Guyana. His name, James Warren Jones, appears at the bottom of this panel at Evergreen Cemetery in ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 19 of 30

In a ceremony at Oakland's Evergreen Cemetery on Sunday, cardboard panels are removed to reveal the names of more than 900 people who died in Jonestown, Guyana.

In a ceremony at Oakland's Evergreen Cemetery on Sunday, cardboard panels are removed to reveal the names of more than 900 people who died in Jonestown, Guyana.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 20 of 30

James Cobb, who lost ten members of his family in Jonestown and was in Guyana at the time of the tragedy, listens to a speaker at Oakland's Evergreen Cemetary on Sunday at the unveiling of a permanent memorial to those who perished. less

James Cobb, who lost ten members of his family in Jonestown and was in Guyana at the time of the tragedy, listens to a speaker at Oakland's Evergreen Cemetary on Sunday at the unveiling of a permanent memorial ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 21 of 30

Patrick Clancey found his own space to listen to the ceremony at Oakland's Evergreen Cemetery, where a permanent memorial to those who perished at Jonestown, Guyana, was unveiled Sunday.

Patrick Clancey found his own space to listen to the ceremony at Oakland's Evergreen Cemetery, where a permanent memorial to those who perished at Jonestown, Guyana, was unveiled Sunday.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 22 of 30

Vicki Perry Carter holds flowers and cries while listening to some Jonestown survivors speak at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland on Sunday at the unveiling of a permanent memorial to those who perished.

Vicki Perry Carter holds flowers and cries while listening to some Jonestown survivors speak at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland on Sunday at the unveiling of a permanent memorial to those who perished.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 23 of 30

James Cobb, who lost ten members of his family in Jonestown and was in Guyana speaks in Oakland on Sunday at the unveiling of a permanent memorial to those who perished.

James Cobb, who lost ten members of his family in Jonestown and was in Guyana speaks in Oakland on Sunday at the unveiling of a permanent memorial to those who perished.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 24 of 30

Pictures of many who perished at Jonestown were on display near the new memorial. A permanent memorial to those who perished at Jonestown, Guyana was unveiled Sunday May 30, 2011 at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif. less

Pictures of many who perished at Jonestown were on display near the new memorial. A permanent memorial to those who perished at Jonestown, Guyana was unveiled Sunday May 30, 2011 at Evergreen Cemetery in ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 25 of 30

Touching the names of those engraved on one of the two memorials dedicated, on Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008, marking the 30th anniversary of the People's Temple mass suicide in Guyana, at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif. Plans are to includes the names of all those lost back in 1978, on a wall of six memorials. less

Touching the names of those engraved on one of the two memorials dedicated, on Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008, marking the 30th anniversary of the People's Temple mass suicide in Guyana, at the Evergreen Cemetery in ... more

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Image 26 of 30

A mourner looked for a friend or a loved one on the new memorial. A permanent memorial to those who perished at Jonestown, Guyana was unveiled Sunday May 30, 2011 at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif.
Ran on: 05-30-2011
The granite panels feature the names of all 918 people who died at Jonestown, the infamous 1978 mass suicide in Guyana. less

A mourner looked for a friend or a loved one on the new memorial. A permanent memorial to those who perished at Jonestown, Guyana was unveiled Sunday May 30, 2011 at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif.
Ran ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 27 of 30

Larry Blufold seaches the photos of victims for the 27 family members that he lost when he was 14-years-old, as family and friends gather for the 32nd anniversary of Jonestown massacre, on Thursday Nov. 18, 2010 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif., to remember those lost in the mass suicide in Guyana, South America in 1978. Bluford, of Inglewood, Ca., made is making his very first trip to the annual memorial after 32 years. less

Larry Blufold seaches the photos of victims for the 27 family members that he lost when he was 14-years-old, as family and friends gather for the 32nd anniversary of Jonestown massacre, on Thursday Nov. 18, ... more

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Image 28 of 30

Photos of the victims on display as family and friends gather for the 32nd anniversary of the Jonestown massacre, on Thursday Nov. 18, 2010 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif.,to remember those lost in the mass suicide in Guyana, South America in 1978.
Ran on: 11-19-2010
Photos of some of the 918 killed in the 1978 Jonestown suicide are displayed at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland.
Ran on: 11-19-2010
Photos of some of the 918 killed in the 1978 Jonestown suicide are displayed at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland. less

Photos of the victims on display as family and friends gather for the 32nd anniversary of the Jonestown massacre, on Thursday Nov. 18, 2010 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Calif.,to remember those lost in ... more

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Image 29 of 30

A gravestone marks the place where a mass grave contains the remains of 400 from Jonestown. Jonestown survivors and supporters gathered at Evergreen Cemetery Monday February 28, 2011 in Oakland, Calif., to protest the cemetery's decision to put together a memorial including the name of cult leader Jim Jones.
Ran on: 03-01-2011
Photo caption Dummy text goes here. Dummy text goes here. Dummy text goes here. Dummy text goes here. Dummy text goes here. Dummy text goes here. Dummy text goes here. Dummy text goes here.<137,1970-12-18-17-21-52,><252>###Photo: jonestown01_PH2<252>1298764800<252>SFC<252>###Live Caption:A gravestone marks the place where a mass grave contains the remains of 400 from Jonestown. Jonestown survivors and supporters gathered at Evergreen Cemetery Monday February 28, 2011 in Oakland, Calif., to protest the cemetery's decision to put together a memorial including the name of cult leader Jim Jones.###Caption History:A gravestone marks the place where a mass grave contains the remains of 400 from Jonestown. Jonestown survivors and supporters gathered at Evergreen Cemetery Monday February 28, 2011 in Oakland, Calif., to protest the cemetery's decision to put together a memorial including the name of cult leader Jim Jones.###Notes:Brant Ward, 415.606.3744###Special Instructions:**MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE-NO SALES-MAGS OUT-TV OUT-INTERNET: AP MEMBER NEWSPAPERS ONLY**<137><252> less

A gravestone marks the place where a mass grave contains the remains of 400 from Jonestown. Jonestown survivors and supporters gathered at Evergreen Cemetery Monday February 28, 2011 in Oakland, Calif., to ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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Jonestown remains' discovery reopens wounds in Bay Area

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A total of 918 people, including Jones, died Nov. 18, 1978, at Jonestown, the spiritual encampment where the cult leader had hoped to create a color-blind utopian society. As he came under increased scrutiny for abusive behavior, Jones coerced his followers to drink cyanide-laced punch. Those who tried to escape were shot.

In addition to those who died at Jonestown, Jones' gunmen killed Peninsula Rep. Leo Ryan, who had led a fact-finding mission to the compound, and four others including San Francisco Examiner photographer Greg Robinson.

All the bodies were taken to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, home of the U.S. military's largest mortuary. But about half were ever claimed. More than 400 victims are buried in a mass grave at Evergreen Cemetery in East Oakland, the only cemetery in the country to accept the bodies because of the stigma associated with the tragedy.

9 Jonestown victims

Of those containers, 33 were clearly marked and identified and spanned a period of 1970 through the 1990s, authorities said. Nine of the bodies were identified as victims of Jonestown. The state's Division of Forensic Science has taken custody of the remains and is working to identify them.

The remains of Maud Ester Perkins, 28, were among those found in the abandoned Dover funeral home, the Associated Press reported. Her widower, Irvin Ray Perkins, 64, of Antioch told the AP on Friday that he had been unable to determine what happened to her body until officials in Delaware contacted him Thursday.

"There was so much chaos. ... I never got a chance to get hold of anybody who knew anything exactly, so I just sort of backed off," said Perkins, whose 7-year-old son, Irvin Ray Perkins Jr., also died at Jonestown.

He said he had planned to join his wife and son in Guyana. "Twenty days later, I would have been there," he said.

Perkins described his wife as "a wonderful wife and a beautiful person." He said he planned to put her ashes on his mantel.

He declined to comment when contacted by The Chronicle on Friday.

Jynona Norwood, who lost 27 relatives in Jonestown - more than any other family - said in a statement Friday that "shockwaves ran through my body" when she heard about the discovery in Delaware.

May bring closure

"Although this is a horrific discovery that causes painful wounds to be reopened, I pray that whoever the next of kin is receives some closure today," Norwood said. "My prayers and sympathy goes out to the family members of these sacred remains."

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, who was shot five times while accompanying Ryan as an aide, said Friday, "It's a sad commentary on a tragic event in which people were maltreated all along the way, even in death."

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